


Son of Darkness, Son of Light

by Tedronai



Category: The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 18:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16624304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tedronai/pseuds/Tedronai
Summary: The history between Anomandaris and Liossercal is long and tempestuous.





	Son of Darkness, Son of Light

**Author's Note:**

> _Tiste shipping!_
> 
>  
> 
> Though a bit of a mystery accompanies this particular fic. A few days ago, a Tumblr user whose username I'd never seen before, either in the Malazan tag or in the notifications of any Malazan-related post, commented on a post and mentioned shipping Rake/Osserc. As a direct result of this percolating in my brain, this fic happened today. I wanted to tag this Tumblr user when posting this fic, to thank them, but their blog has been deactivated.
> 
> Former Tumblr user sindefara, if you're reading this... idk, hi!

The great, white Ancient wheeled towards Moon’s Spawn, the light of the setting sun gleaming golden on its brilliant scales. Silanah watched Osserc, the Lord of the Sky, land on an outer ledge of the skykeep. There he sembled, a tall figure resembling Tiste Andii except for the colouring, which was as light as the Andii were dark, in near-blinding silver armour, a blue silk cloak billowing dramatically in his wake as he strode inside Moon’s Spawn to meet its Lord.

Silanah noted the arrival only in passing. The great red Eleint had seen this before, knew how things would pan out, and could muster only mild curiosity towards this Liosan Ascendant who came every few centuries to steal her Lord’s attention for a time. The Eleint were well capable of jealousy, terrible and destructive when it was unleashed, but Silanah felt none over whom Anomander chose to bed while wearing his Tiste form. It was but a momentary distraction, after all; in the end he would always bore of his lesser lovers and return to her.

 

As days passed, turned into weeks, Osserc remained as Anomander’s guest in the Moon’s Spawn. The two might have little to say each other during the day, and at night, well, Silanah was aware of everything that went on in the flying fortress city, especially the activities of the draconean soletaken housed within, and had her mind been anything remotely resembling human, what she sensed during the nights might have been profoundly awkward. 

Lucky, then, that she was burdened with no such cumbersome social sensibilities.

 

Finally, as it always happened, the two lords of the two proud Tiste peoples began to grow tired of each other’s company. Silanah could tell this as their couplings became angrier, the passion sharper, the affection between them more violent. When they were done breaking furniture and making the long-suffering castellan despair and had moved on to throwing glassware, Silanah knew that the visit was drawing towards its natural conclusion.

And indeed, in a matter of days, she witnessed the Son of Light reappear on the ledge, leaving the way he had arrived, without ceremony, the first rays of the rising sun catching on long, silver-and-gold hair before he veered and took to the sky.

 

That evening Anomander Rake, the First Son of Darkness, Wielder of Dragnipur and long-time lover of Silanah, came out of the skykeep to watch the sun set with her. He didn’t veer; he seemed ever more reluctant to surrender to his draconean instincts, which made Silanah feel a little melancholy when she chose to dwell on the matter, but his company was always welcome.

He sat on the rocky surface of Moon’s Spawn and, unwitnessed by anyone but his draconean lover, he leaned against her flank, stroking her crimson scales idly with one hand. “You must think me a right fool,” he said after a while, a note of wry humour in his voice. “To keep doing that. With Osserc. We always know how it will end…” He smiled faintly. “And yet.”

Silanah said nothing; she would not judge, but she had no validation to offer, either. She knew her presence was enough. That was the way of it between them, her and this remarkable Tiste Andii who had proved himself worthy of the love of a true Eleint.

Anomander’s smile widened a fraction, as though he caught something of her thoughts nonetheless. He let his head fall back to rest against her, a gesture of vulnerability that he could never afford before his Tiste followers or mortal allies. Wind caught in his silver hair, tossing the fine strands back and forth.

After a while he gave a soft sigh and stood up again. “Very well. Best get back to work and see what this word has been up to while I was distracted with Osserc.” Silanah understood that to be humour; he would never ignore his responsibilities to fool around with a lover. She snorted her appreciation of the joke, startling a score of Great Ravens roosting far above them and earning a smile from her lover. Then he turned and vanished inside the skykeep again.


End file.
